Thus, Every Day, We Fight
by Dienekes
Summary: Pina, through sheer force of will, overcame many obstacles. But the more she struggles, the larger the obstacles loom over her. She knew that leading her people to the light was never meant to be easy. Who does the leader, who everyone looks to for inspiration, lean on when her strength keeps trying to abandon her?
1. Opening: Thus

**Thus, Every Day, We Fight**

 _It is never easy. Not for the lowest of the low, nor the highest of the high. Each of us struggles to bring that thing from our ambition and from our minds eye into the world. That unfeeling world will always offer obstacles. To remove those obstacles, we must fight._

There was a moment as Pina took a knee before the Emperor. She could hear the traditional words as he announced her new position as the crown Princess. The crowds, though swollen around them in vast numbers, remained unnaturally still and silent.

She mustered the only response that seemed appropriate, "I will dedicate my body and my soul to the Empire!" In the roar of the trumpets, the doves, the colorful confetti that danced lazily from above, she could almost forget the extraordinary burden she was taking upon herself.

The sound of the people's adulation was so great that it crashed through her. She braced herself, the raw feeling of the cheers moving through her was intoxicating. She resisted these feelings. She'd seen what pride had done to her brother's mind. His mind had been twisted into a thing which threatened to destroy everything she held dear.

The Emperor smiled weakly as the roars erupted around Pina and their eyes met. Any doubts that Pina had, she kept them smothered beneath the surface. She faced her father with a face of determination, and in him, she saw uncharacteristic warmth.

 _He did much as Emperor. But he is weak now, weaker than perhaps he can ever remember being. He's not afraid, but he knows that he cannot take the empire forward. If he can no longer fight... I must_.

Pina had faced many terrors in her life and she knew that she had to move forward. But she could feel the weight on her shoulders. This weight had been given to her by her father. She knew that if she didn't move forward, neither would the empire.

Pina smiled for one last moment to her father before facing the crowd, the thousands of hopeful faces. Many had abandoned homes and family to follow her here, to her exile in italica. She raised her arm to them, gazing out at the crowd with the same steely determination. The chant began like the crash of a great wave, "Pina! Pina! Pina! Pina!"

She let the cheer go for a time before straightening herself in a serious manner. The chant began to scatter as a buzz of voices passed through it making room for her voice to rise above them all.

"The glory is not mine," Pina said firmly, "the glory is ours. It goes to the Empire, to we, the carriers of its legacy. The legacy of the empire lives in millions of hearts, human and non-human, from our world and from another," she said, motioning to the SDF. There were a few cheers but Pina's strong voice cut them out, "That legacy is one of peace and justice, both of which are under dire threat. Offer me your hand that we might restore them!"

 _If I am to lead, I need the faith of the people._

She walked from the crowd as their cheers continued to wash over her, where her knights stood in their beautiful armor, ceremonial swords held in steady hands.

"Wonderful speech, princess," Bozes said, her face scrunched up.

"If you make me cry in front of all these people, Bozes. I won't forgive you," Pina responded as she fought the growing impulse within herself.

"I'm sorry princess," Bozes responded, wetness glistening in her eyes. Pina reached her arms out and drew all her knights close. She did not shake or shiver. A single tear ran out of one eye.

Pina broke the embrace and drew her sword in a sudden flash or steel, raising it to the sky as her other hand wiped her face clean. "Our work begins now! A new battle on a new field! For the empire!"

"For the empire!"

A terrified scream issued from the crowd. Pina whirled. "WHORE OF THE OTHERWORDLERS!" came a ragged cry. Pina whirled, her knights drawing around her in a shield of flesh of steel as a man, eyes wild with adrenaline threw himself upon them. Above the shoulders of her knights she could see the dagger raised high in the sky.


	2. Chapter 1: The Job

_Author's Note:_

 _Hello Everyone. I'm happy to be tackling this story. This will be challenging to be sure. This series has dramatic depth, and reaches wider than one might expect as a story. That said, I've felt eager to explore it. This is my take on what happens after Season 2. This is where my universe diverges from the canon._

 _I will greatly appreciate any feedback and suggestions._

 **Every Day: Chapter 1: The Job**

 _Itami_

All Itami had wanted to do today was pick up his dojinshi.

He knew that explaining that to the officer who sat across the table from him wouldn't get him very far. They called people with his hobby otaku, perverts, degenerates. There were bar graphs run every night on the local news dedicated to explaining why people like him were single-handedly ruining Japan.

And a long time ago, Itami had learned to smile. He wore that very smile as the officer asked him questions, knowing that if he held the smile for long enough, eventually the matter would pass as it always did. _Yes, I'm with the SDF. Yes, my female companion is registered to carry that terrifying halberd. Here are my papers._

It was there in the interrogation room of the police station that a woman in a crisp black suite, an expensive one, albeit lacking in visual flair, entered. She wasn't police. Her suite was too expensive. _Government?_ Itami didn't recognize her.

"Excuse me officer. I believe you heard from my office," she said.

The officer offered the new woman his own smile of surrender. "Ah yes, miss." He gestured to Itami as one might to a sacrificial victim. The officer left and it was just Itami and the strange woman.

She pulled up the chair, a large folder falling upon the table with a thud. "Itami. Yoji," she said with practiced disinterest. Placing a pair of glasses upon her nose, she pulled a brightly colored book from a bag at her side, "these?"

"My books," Itami answered, maintaing his smile. _Doujins over a year in coming_ , _more like._

She glared back at him. "Is this what's passing for books these days?" she asked. She flung the book as she sat back in her chair, gazing coldly at him. The book flapped through the air like a dying bird before falling to the dirt-scuffed floor. Itami winced. "I don't have enough time for make believe, Captain. Too many... _more important_ things to worry about."

"If you know my name then you know I am a member of the SDF on authorized leave. My call will be coming in shortly..."

"Of course," she said smugly, "I just wanted to get a measure of you... the _hero_ of your own little story, Itami Yoji," she said, giving hero a mocking emphasis.

"And who's hero are you, miss? Are you working for the opposition party?"

She gave him a viper's smile. "You've had a long time to gallivant on the other side of the gate, Itami." She adjusted her glasses as she began to leaf through the papers in her folder. "A lot of corpses. Some underage girls. A couple Coup D'etats."

Itami kept a still face.

"You understand that we have rules as a nation, Captain?" she asked, leaning in, eyes drinking in all they saw like hungry demons, "Little boys breaking those rules while playing soldier is a national embarrassment. When the adults take over, you will answer for all of them."

 _If your from the opposition party, you will want to find a scandal, even if there isn't one,_ Itami thought to himself. _You will try to smear mud on us for politics, not justice._

Itami got up from the table and picked up the doujinshi, brushing the smeared dirt off of the pages. "It's been a pleasure meeting you miss...?"

"Maita Yoko," she said with a smile. "We will meet again soon."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It was only after closing mess that Akira Tomita had been able to steal away into the night. He started the day promising himself that he wouldn't think about her.

Halfway through, he'd given a little ground. Maybe he could think about her, a thought here and there?

By closing mess, her name was a burning coal in his chest. He felt his legs moving on their own as he made his way through the streets of Italica.

The only thing that slowed his progress towards her was the flower stand that he'd seen earlier in the day. A special girl like her... her long blond hair, her confidence and pride. She needed all the flowers in the world as far as Akira was concerned, the mother of his child.

The other Rose Knights knew about Bozes pregnancy, enough for little giggles as he passed, as they pointed him down the corridors of the palace of Italica. A girl motioned to him. "She's in there," she said with a warm smile, "go get her!"

Akira walked in, expecting to see Bozes getting ready to retire.

Instead, he opened a door into a dingy room with flickering candlelight. The smell of feces, vomit, and urine assaulted his senses. Hardened soldier though he was, he gagged, bringing the flower up to his face as he covered his mouth.

"N...n..no more," a voice whimpered. Then there was the dull noise of a heavy impact on flesh, and a scream of pain.

"Oh we're just getting started." _That voice,_ Akira thought to himself. _That's her._ He walked into the room, saw the girl he loved standing over a broken man, lying naked and sobbing as blood dripped from the stumps of pulled teeth which lay, roots and all, in fleshy puddles of blood on the floor between them. A man stood over the prisoner with a hammer. The blood splatter was on him so it appeared he was doing most of the torturing.

Akira stopped in his tracks, stunned. "Bozes..."

She turned, and smiled. "Oh Akira!" she smiled as she walked to him, throwing her arms around him in a warm embrace. But Akira kept his gaze on the prisoner, who pitifully gazed back up at him with hollow eyes.

"Akira... what's wrong?" Bozes said, rubbing Akira's shoulder sweetly. She nodded back to the torturer, "You can continue, torturer!" Bozes called out.

"You're... torturing him with a hammer?" Akira said, narrowing his eyes.

Bozes shrugged. "Well we started with the teeth, naturally."

Akira clenched his jaw.

Bozes raised an eyebrow. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Look Bozes... I have to tell you that what you're doing. we don't support that," Akira said in a hushed voice. "That's not how you should treat prisoners."

"That piece of filth almost killed the crown princess," Bozes hissed back, "his life is forfeit. The only matter is if he has something useful to tell us."

There was another thump and another haggard scream. Akira raised the flower that he'd kept in his grasp. "I got this flower," Akira muttered, "it reminded me of how beautiful and... gentle you are." Akira regretted the last words. As they left his mouth they sounded far too much like an accusation.

The two held that eye contact for a long moment before Bozes drew her sword in a flash. The flower split in two, the top half fluttering to the ground. Bozes turned from Akira, closing her eyes. "Perhaps it is best you leave," she muttered, "before you insult my honor any further."

Akira hesitated, sensing it was a trap. "I... I won't leave. I love you, Bozes."

"I won't tell you what to do as a soldier," Bozes said softly, "do not tell me what to do as a knight of the Empire."


	3. Chapter 2: The Vast and Formless

**Every Day: Chapter 2: The Vast and Formless**

 _Pina Co Lada_

The blood was dry now, and gave the room a distinct metallic smell. The body of the man who had made the attempt on her life had been removed. Though Pina had instructed that the servants not be too thorough in cleaning the room itself.

A single candle sat on the table. It shone light that gave a warm glow to Pina's armor, the finest set the Empire could craft.

The light poured into the long gashes and scratches her armor bore. None of those scratches had pierced her armor. Not yet... though the force of one heavy overhand swing had once nearly dislocated her right arm.

A man entered, a rough man, with a fairly developed beard. Poor hygiene and sunken eyes. Two Rose Knights guided the man to a chair across from Pina. His eyes flashed to the corner. He saw the blood, though he hid any reaction.

"How have they been treating you, prisoner?" Pina asked with a warm smile.

"Feed us enough to keep us alive," he said, head bowed. His eyes flashed up to hers. She met them and her smile expanded.

She drew a slice of bread and felt its warmth in her hand and offered it to the man. He looked up at her. He was like a frightened dog one often saw on the street, one who was kicked just as often as he had his fur tussled. _And yet, a hungry dog,_ Pina thought as he cautiously accepted the bread and began to eat. She had his attention.

"You fought against the lawful authorities. Why?" she asked gently.

The man wiped crumbs from his lips. "Law became scarce around Italica," he said. "Bandits became more common. Came a time when if you weren't friends with the bandits, you were their target."

"I understand." Pina lied warmly.

 _You could have fought. Your town could have organized. Instead, you became a parasite._

"As your crown Princess I am here to tell you that we are at a crossroads. Both of us. You could survive for a time more, perhaps a year at the current rations. My brother could have me swinging by my neck from a tree right outside the city within a similar time."

"So, we're both fucked, is that what you're telling me?"

"The truth is, you are a wicked man. But through good works, through discipline, through brave action, we might both wake up at one point and find peace and rewards surrounding us."

The spit hit Pina's cheek. She didn't dodge it, though she saw it coming. One of her Rose Knights slammed the prisoner in the back of his head and twisted his arm painfully to force him against the wood, while the other offered her a cloth to wipe herself, which Pina did.

 _Another coward._ "Toss him back into the deepest part of this place," she muttered with a sigh.

"You don't have to handle this yourself," Hamilton said, drifting to Pina's side, looking to the prisoner with disgust as he was dragged away.

"Hamilton... any General can lead a fine, well-trained and loyal army to victory... but it takes a true artist to create one from the raw materials. This is one thing that my father could do better than anyone."

 _Better than me_.

But Pina could put in the work. She could keep recruiting. She could keep pouring over the reports from her spies that she'd scattered throughout the former Imperial territories. Truth was, she did not want to be here today. As her eyes closed, she found her thoughts drifting to the warmth of her bed. But she saw what she had to do. She saw her path.

She felt a hand rest on her shoulder. "You are so stiff," Hamilton said as her fingers traced the taut muscles running up to Pina's neck. "Let me relax your muscles some before the next one arrives."

Pina gazed up at Hamilton with a scrupulous gaze.

"What is it?"

Pina shook her head. "You are a rare thing, Hamilton. A rare... rare thing." She relaxed as she felt gentle fingers soothing the tensed muscles of her neck with the light touches and felt in that instant that Hamilton could be tossed to the lions only to have the pride playing with her in fields of flowers within the hour. She felt a flash of jealousy. _I am dedicated now to encouraging men to steely violence. Had I been born to a different time and different parents, I might have done little more than inspired people to peace... to joy._

Pina closed her eyes. "Every time I envision our path, Hamilton... I see a mountain of corpses."

"If you did nothing at all, there would still be a mountain of corpses," Hamilton replied. "Pina, we have faith in you."


	4. Chapter 3: Mobility

_Author's Note: So... these chapters have been shorter than my usual targets. Once upon a time I would shoot for 3k. I am trying something new. I hope you will note that my writing quality itself shouldn't take any particular dive and I still plan on telling my story though the pages will be slightly shorter, so bear with me_.

 **Chapter 3: Mobility**

They had tracked the bandits to a small farming town surrounded by large tracts of scrubby grassland.

Knight-Captain Panache rode at the front of a column of horse. She did not trust the eyes or instincts of the others under her command to be as keen.

Their orders from Pina were simple: Destroy any small bandit unit and report the larger ones back to command at Italica.

As they approached the town, the streets were suspiciously sparse. She signaled to her second, an Imperial horseman who had recently defected with his unit days after Pina's rescue from the capital. "Take 20 riders around the eastern side of the town. I will take the rest around the west and we will meet behind."

He gave a closed-fist salute. "Second company!" he called out, spurring their horses they began their trip.

She motioned to another, "Noobie, watch the spare horses!"

Panache raised her lance to the air and motioned the other way. She looked back with a grin at the riders that followed her and gave a hoot of joy as she steered her horse to leap over a small stone wall. The feeling of flight, and then the jolt of landing was a wonderful one, and she smoothly accepted the jolt with expert leg control, the comforting weight of her long lance in her arm.

She glanced to the town as they rode. She saw a corpse on the street. _They're here._

As they neared the back, she saw something of a loose mob forming. No organization, but they appeared to be armed.

Panache counted around a hundred at a glance, vs her 60 horse. On open ground. _Acceptable._

She gave a whoop and aimed her horse to the mob. _The flanking force should come up behind them_. It would work out well.

Panache rode in, saw a few stragglers on the edges of the enemy. She aimed for one far side and urged her horse on as they tore towards the enemy. _Faster,_ she thought. As the enemies grew in size. _Faster_. Her eyes gleamed, her teeth shone in grin. From the corner of her eye, she saw an enemy bow cocked back and then an arrow whip out from it. She ducked and heard the arrow zip overhead. She leveled her lance at a man on the side who twirled a sling.

 _I'm armored dumbass_ , Panache thought as she felt the light shock of his stone hitting off her shield. He tried to dive away as she passed but she had already adjusted her direction accordingly. Finding his chest, her wrist jolted against her lance's guard as it smashed into the boy, she held the lance for just long enough to bury it through.

She wheeled her horse, which kicked up as she pulled her first javelin from behind her shield. "Quit showing off, Princess!" she shouted to her horse as Princess came back to the ground from rearing a javelin sailed embarrassingly wide of them. She spurred the horse towards the enemy.

They did not look steady. An unsteady foe was a cavalrywoman's favorite. She saw big gaps in their shields, she found the balance on her own javelin.

"Fuck off bitch!" she heard from them as she rode in. Another arrow whistled in, this one struck her shoulder only to flip harmlessly over her back. _Where the fuck are you,_ she thought to herself, she looked, and saw the vertical wood of a bow, a terrified set of eyes. She rode past, and let her javelin fly with an expert throw.

It was a mere few pounds pound wooden shaft with an extremely gradual edge, a brutal needle of a thing of extraordinary sharpness.

The dart found its mark. She heard a roar of terror and pain. She pulled her second javelin before her pass was over, steered her horse around the formation and saw a man looking the other way. _Holding your shield the wrong way, dumbass_! She thought with a grin. She came up in her saddle and threw again.

Just as she'd thrown she saw another of her mounted men circling from the other side. They were on a collision course. She steered her horse closer to the enemy and shot the surprised-looking horseman a grin as she whipped out her cavalry saber in a screeching of metal.

An enemy spear-man jumped out from their formation and the edge hit her horse's front. Panache only had the moment to blink before there was a hard jolt and weightlessness as Princess tumbled. Panache fell, her armor clattering as she rolled in the grass.

Her heart was hammering, a heavy vortex of noise rolling around her as she felt herself rising to her feet, quick breathing, dirt and clumps of grass falling from her helmet.

Blinking away her shock she looked up just in time to see a man running at her. She banged her sword and shield together. "COME THE FUCK ON!" she yelled as she ran at him, though she could feel her throat giving a full scream, it sounded strangely quiet in her shock. She let out a roar as she charged.

He lunged with his spear. She used her shield to smash the spear away. He lunged again. Again she struck his spearpoint. In that instant, the only sound on the battlefield was the grinding of his spear against the edge of her shield, it's deadly barbed tip swinging over her head as she ducked below it and back again. She pushed the spear off of her shield and swung violently. Her sword blow banged off his shield, but she was too close, and his spear was already uselessly overextended past her so she banged her shield against his as a means of finding it, then pressed to fix his shield in place as she pressed him with her leg strength, digging into the soft earth. As he rose his arm to try to get another stab in with his spear, she came over the top of the shields with her much more deft saber and drove the steel in through his clavicle, wiggling the sword in deeper as it met resistance. As he collapsed she used her foot to free the stuck blade and a spray of blood accompanied it.

Huffing with satisfaction, Panache could see her horse circling the enemy, javelins whipping into them, lances slamming into the enemies on the edges, the crack of splintering lances, the cries of wounded men.

She tore her gaze and saw a few other of her riders dismounted, struggling to their feet. "ON ME!" she cried out, raising her saber. She dashed for the enemy on foot, and could see a few of her men coming to her sides. Only a few enemies turned to face them in the chaos. Panache focused on shield bashing them, shield against shield as her men hacked at them with sabers. As she beat them back, one of them tripped she flipped her sword's grip in a smooth motion and jammed the sword down into his gut. She came back up, eyes peering from behind a blood-stained helmet and shield.

"DROP YOUR WEAPONS," she roared. She could hear the voices of her men echoing the command.

The remaining bandits, cowering in a bristle of javelins, surrounded by their dead, began to toss weapons and shields down as Panache's riders slowed around them.

Panache raised her sword "AD VICTORIAM!" she cried out.

A roar came from her men. But in that moment of elation, she remembered something. _Princess!_ she thought to herself. Nodding to her second in command who saluted from horseback, she walked back and heard the dreadful noise of a horse whimpering.

"Oh Princess..." Panache said as she found her horse writhing in the ground where it had skidded to a halt. She knelt beside the horse. "shhh..." and traced her hands to where the spear had gouged her horse's front.

She felt her heart sink. "Don't worry baby," she lied, "it's not too deep. Shhhhh..."

As she stroked the horse, she could hear someone approaching. She gently ran her fingers along the horse's mane and could feel it's fear beginning to calm.

"Captain?"

Panache didn't look up from her horse, could see the blood pooling on the soggy earth below.

"You aren't a child soldier, I'm sure you know what to do," she said. _Fuck off for a bit,_ is what she meant. She soothed the beast, gently and rhythmically stroked it. She could feel her fear lessening as her breathing began to peacefully slow, her eyes begin to slowly close. Panache focused on soothing her, keeping thoughts of _what if_ locked out of her mind.

"Sorry," she muttered.


	5. Chapter 4: The Rules

**Chapter 4: The Rules**

 _Do just enough to get by_ : this had been Itami's guiding principle for much of his adult life. In a world where concrete structures in society demanded the obedience of all those within it, disobedience was never on the table.

So Itami wore his smile as a shield and every time a hoop was presented to him, like a good boy, he jumped through it.

The letter remain in his hard-clenched hands. _Itami Yoji, you are advised to remain within your lawful residence. You will be subject to mandatory appearances at the Japanese House of Representatives where your prior actions will be reviewed. You are advised to seek legal counsel._

 _Advised to remain within your lawful residence_ , Itami thought to himself. The cage of society seemed to be tightening its walls. It was always freedom that Itami had sought for himself, and that was under threat. Why? Because he'd done what any decent human being would do.

"Itami." Itami heard the familiar tenor of the voice, the kind of voice that grabbed your attention and forced it to a matter of importance.

"Ah, yes Lelei," Itami said with a smile, folding the paper in his hands.

"Come with me," she said in her ultra-serious way, "there's something you have to see." Lelei usually didn't resort to direct commands unless it was something important so Itami nodded his head and followed.

The young mage led him to Itami's common room, where a number of bodies, the girls and Risa, were gathered around a TV, which flashed bright images.

"... just some of the footage we've recently received from media sources in the special region." The voice of the announcer carried a certain seriousness that announcers reserved for deaths and disasters. Itami walked to edge himself into a place to view the screen among the many females crowding the view.

He recognized the image on the TV, _the Imperial City..._ It was an aerial shot, panning slowly from a high angle. Columns of smoke ascended from every corner of the Imperial city.

"These images are not meant for children," the commentator continued. Then flashed bloody images, armed mobs. _I've walked those streets_ , Itami thought to himself. _Now they are covered in corpses_.

"We are faced with a new set of questions," the commentator continued seriously, "are the actions of Japan to blame? Did Japanese actions destabilize the region and lead to these events? To answer these questions we have invited Maita Yoko of the Opposition party."

 _Her_ , Itami thought to himself as her image appeared. The same woman who had threatened him after his arrest and she carried the same slick smile.

"Thank you," she said.

"People are saying that your party's surge in popularity is tied to the situation in the special region. Do you agree?" In the corner of the screen, they continued to play recycled images of the dead on a constant loop, beneath the images was the caption _Massacre: SDF to blame?_

"Absolutely," Maita Yoko replied, she continued with a rehearsed tempo, lacking disturbingly in variations in tempo or emotion. She delivered her line like a robot. "It has become clear to us that the actions of the SDF have created a power vacuum which has led to these massacres."

"Do you believe the SDF is guilty of committing war crimes."

"War crimes, corruption, and sexual misconduct. We are taking political steps to issue an immediate freeze on all SDF activities before this situation gets any worse," she answered.

Itami could hardly believe his eyes.

"Freeze in activities? What is that silly woman talking about?" Rory asked.

"She's saying the SDF won't be able to fight."

"But your armies are the only ones who could stop this," Rory said, licking her lips at the images that played before them. "Are you sure she isn't another servant of Emroy?" _You're more right than you know_.

Itami looked to the images again, the corpses stacked into piles. The mobs dragging young girls away, his fist clenched.

 _You are advised to remain within your lawful residence_.

"Itami," Lelei said, locking eyes with him. She conveyed everything into that single word.

"Father," Tuka said in a pained voice. She was pale, shivering, wetness shined like a beacon in her eyes. "We have to help them," she said, wiping her eyes. "I lost everything. If we can prevent that from happening to even one person we _have to go!_ "

Itami averted his gaze from the young elf. "I've been given orders from my tribe, Tuka. If I leave, I will be an outlaw."

Tuka stood up tall. She would not allow Itami to make excuses, not about this. She stormed up to him and grabbed his arms, "This is about something bigger than your tribe," she said, feeling a fire within her, "This is about what's right."

Tuka held back her tears as she stared defiantly into Itami's eyes. She knew that hidden deep behind his placid expression, thoughts and feelings were battling. But she knew him. This was the man who had saved her life in more ways than one, who had risked everything. _Why do you fight so hard to hide that good man within yourself, Itami?_

After what seemed an eternity, Itami raised his eyes to her again, "Tuka... you really are such a troublesome girl."

"You'll go?" Tuka asked firmly.

"It'd seem I don't have a choice, wouldn't it?" he replied with a half smile. Itami braced himself as Tuka's jumped upon him in a bone-crushing hug.

"I will go with you," Lelei chimed in firmly, giving him a determined look.

"Wouldn't miss it," Rory added with a sly smile.

 _This cute little hug machine will really be the end of me,_ Itami reached out and wiped the tear that was running down Tuka's cheek. _But there's no helping it_.


End file.
